According to Deseret News, Sen. Mitt Romney wrote a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, urging him to open a passport agency in Salt Lake City.In the letter, Romney asked the U.S. State Department to consider how to better help residents in the West who face difficulties with obtaining passports. People in Idaho, Utah, Montana, Oregon, Nevada and Wyoming must renew their passports by mail or travel long distances to reach the nearest passport offices.
Romney stated Salt Lake is the best location for a new agency because “Utah is rapidly expanding as a center for global commerce and tourism, is home to thousands of Latter-day Saints who annually embark on worldwide religious missions, and, like much of the Western Mountain region, has a rapidly growing population.” All of these factors, according to Romney, create consistently high demand for passport services.
